Mark G

@ConorDoesItAll @Steven_Swinford I didn't mention cutting benefits.

@mgordon84 @Steven_Swinford Which part of the benefit system would you cut? Pensions make up the largest portion btw.

THE BUDGET 2025 Here's everything we know about today's Budget, from the dozen plus tax rises to the cost-of-living giveaways and increase in spending on welfare: TAX * Freezing income tax thresholds for two more years until 2030, raising £8bn to £10bn. The biggest tax rise in the Budget. Will lead to accusations that Labour has broken manifesto pledge. Will take no of higher rate taxpayers to 10million by 2030 and everyone in receipt of full state pension will pay income tax from 2028 * Tax raid on pensions contributions Pension contributions under salary sacrifice schemes will be hit with national insurance for both employers and employees. There will be a £2,000 but move could raise as much as £4bn. Concerns it will discourage people from doing right thing and saving for retirement * Gambling taxes Reeves is expected to raise around £1billion by increasing taxes on online gambling, physical slot machines and other gambling duties. Horseracing will be exempted. Treasury had hoped to raise £3bn but behavioural impact means it will raise less * High value property tax All properties worth £2m plus will be hit with a new charge of around £4,500. Roughly 100,000 properties targeted. Top three bands of council tax will be revalued to work out who to hit with new charge. OBR expected to raise concerns about behavioural impact. Raises around £450m but crucially establishes basis of a new tax for future * Pay per mile on electric cars Electric vehicle drivers face new 3p per mile charge on top of other road taxes to make up for falling fuel duty revenues, with average drivers paying £250 a year. Could raise £2bn but highly uncertain. Grants being extended for electric cars but will it hit the transition from petrol and diesel to electric? * Cash Isas Reeves will cut the cash-free Isa allowance from £20,000 to £12,000 in a bid to encourage people to invest in stocks and shares. Lenders have raised concerns this could push up mortgage rates * The milkshake tax Pre-packaged milkshakes and lattes will be hit by sugar tax. Threshold for levy will also be cut from 5g/100ml to 4.5g/100ml, hitting dozens more popular brands including Pepsi, Irn Bru and Fanta * The tourism tax A £2 a night levy on overnight stays in hotels and other holiday rentals, including Airbnbs. Brings Britain into line with other countries but concerns it will deter tourism. Money will go to Mayors or other strategic authorities * Cycle to work tax Buyers of expensive manual and electric bicycles through salary sacrifice schemes will have benefits cut sharply. Concerns it has become a tax break for high earners who take '£4,000 e-bikes for weekend rides in the Surrey Hills' * Business rates Reeves will make a temporary discount for small retail and hospitality premises permanent but fund the move with a tax raid on properties with a rateable value of £500,000. It will hit big warehouse businesses ie Amazon but also leading supermarkets, which had hoped to secure an exemption * Shein/ Temu crackdown Reeves will scrap a widely criticised tax loophole that benefits Chinese ecommerce giants, but not until 2029. Retailers wanted it to come sooner * Taxi tax Reeves will impose VAT on Uber, Bolt and other private hire taxi firms in a move that they say could push up fares by 15%. They pay a reduced rate of VAT under a scheme originally set up for travel agents and tour operators COST OF LIVING * Energy bills Could be the 'rabbit' of the Budget, although Reeves doesn't like rabbits (metaphorically speaking). Reeves will cut energy bills by removing green levies. No 10 had wanted a £170 cut, Treasury thought £80 was more realistic. Not clear where they have landed * National living wage A 4 per cent rise in the national living wage to £12.71. A bigger rise of 8.5% for 18 to 20-year-olds taking their pay to £10.85. Reeves says move will reward work, but left-leaning think tanks are concerned it will price young people out of work * Fuel duty Reeves is expected to extend the fuel duty freeze for yet another year, which has not become a near-permanent fixture of the tax system. Will cost around £3bn. But does it make sense at a time when govt is imposing new levy on electric cars? * Rail fare freeze In a surprise move, Reeves has frozen rail fares for the first time in 30 years instead of raising them in line with inflation by 4.8% * The two-child cap on welfare The two-child benefit cap will be scrapped outright. Reeves spent months resisting the move, arguing it was too expensive, only to have her hand forced by strength of feeling on backbenches. Will cost £3bn * Uprating benefits Benefits will rise in line with inflation. Move was fully expected but comes at a significant cost - £6billion * The welfare/ winter fuel u-turns Reeves will have to foot the cost of her seismic u-turns on winter fuel payments and plans to overhaul the welfare system, which came in at more than £6bn PUBLIC SPENDING * NHS investment Reeves will announce more funding for the NHS as Labour seeks to cut waiting lists. How much is unclear yet, but it is expected to be one of the headline measures in the Budget * No return to austerity Reeves has insisted that there will be no return to austerity and public spending will be protected. However there will be a cut in the public spending profile at the end of this Parliament, for 2029/30, which is likely to be viewed with scepticism by the markets given Reeves's reluctance to pare back public spending. It is a mañana promise of spending today and unspecified cuts tomorrow

@edwest If you listen to Dominic Sandbrook on the Trigonometry podcast and he touches on this

@AFC_Fazeel Charlie Austin to Hull, then went to QPR and scored a skipful of goals

Unrelated: has anyone ever failed a medical??

@TLRailUK Do you think the 20.31 from St Pancras will run to Stevenage?

@mgordon84 Hi where are you travelling to please? ^Amy

Due to an incident currently under investigation at Hornsey, services may be cancelled or delayed. We are working on gathering more information and will provide an update as soon as possible.

@TLRailUK To Stevenage from London kings cross/st Pancras

@TLRailUK From what London station?

If you are travelling from London to stations between Stevenage and Peterborough... Please use your ticket on Greater Anglia services to Ely (via Cambridge) and use other operators towards Peterborough. From there, please speak to staff or take a train to complete your journey. Alternatively, travel to Bedford Station and use an alternative road methos of transport to complete your journey.

@Farrell86O Is this real?

@Farrell86O @PlayerGaelic 😂

@PlayerGaelic I know it’s controversial but they might have to try using their foot to kick the football. Know it sounds mad.

Let’s say the data released by the FRC shows that physical demands on the ‘middle 8’ have increased significantly. Will management teams see it as a signal that they need to adapt how the game is trained and played? Surely it has to be something they will explore.

@gilescoren Made my morning this. Nail on the head

The Jag ad, the Guardian, accusations that GCSEs are ‘too middle class’… ordinary people in Britain with decent values are being insulted by the same craven lefty Kamala Harrisite shit that gifted America to Donald Trump. We CANNOT let that happen here. thetimes.com/article/2f5176…

@afneil @TimesRadio Any chance the stamp duty rise will be delayed if enough push back?!? Alot of completions are at risk now....

The Andrew Neil Show and the Budget on @TimesRadio. We will take the Chancellor’s speech live and uninterrupted from 12:30. And at least part of Rishi Sunak’s response at 1.30pm. From 1.45pm onwards I will present 45 minutes of analysis with a variety of well-informed guests. By 2.30pm you should be fully briefed!

Pet owners should gradually adjust the routines of their animal companions before the clocks go back as sudden changes can cause confusion, anxiety and even an upset stomach, an expert has said rte.ie/news/newslens/…

@DubCityCouncil Could these not have been designed as rain gardens to take adjacent surface water run-off ?

The greening has commenced today as part of the Talbot st improvement works

@rtenews The Royal Borough of Galway. 🤷🏻‍♂️

Terror motive investigated in Galway barracks attack rte.ie/news/connacht/…

@ThoughtsToby London Borough of Dublin. 🔪

Man stabbed and robbed in broad daylight in Dublin City centre.

@WMPolice Things you love to see

#OpTarget | Four men have been jailed for their part in an organised crime spree of raids across the Midlands. See how we brought them down, and how one of the gang complained about how his driving would look on video after we pursued him. Full story 👉 ow.ly/MOYP50SurgX

@maxrushden Unusual environment incoming

it is incredible Southgate has only made one change. totally mad.

@willgoodbody Is that the weather in Dublin this morning?! Christ

Pilots at Aer Lingus marching through the Dublin Airport complex this morning as part of their 8 hour strike action which began at 5am.

Tourist gets headbutted and thrown to the floor after standing next to a Kings Guard horsemen. Tourists are warned not to get close to the horses or guards with a nearby sign reading ‘Beware. Horse may kick or bite. Don’t touch the reigns. Thank you.’

@CityPolice Things you love to see

The successful capture and prosecution of prolific phone snatcher Sonny Stringer shows our focus on detecting and bringing to justice those who snatch phones. PC Smith, who is trained in tactical pursuit & containment (TPAC), took the decision to make contact with his e-bike.